some notes:
monkey business - Sunday, March 12 2006
went for Vince's (aka Usher)bday dinner last night @ Taylor's Crossing in North Van. 1/4 century...damn we're getting old. he's a pretty fun drunk though.
got up early this morning for church, had to play guitar. my hamstrings & calves were still sore from yesterday's triathlon. see the training log for a more detailed account (whenever i get around to writing it).
saw this documentary on the Knoweldge Network during dinner on Jane Goodall. i've heard of her, but didn't know anything about her in particular other than she was like a female Tarzan. well, that's just the beginning. she's quite the admiralable/inspiring woman. it was called "Chimps on the Edge", about chimpanzees going extinct in Tanzania. i actually think she was quite pretty when she was young, but then she started looking like a chimp.
sadistic meditation - Wednesday, March 14 2006
still sitting on pins & needles now as i wait for a response from the JET Programme. the tri was a good distraction, as was yesterday's session. #12 i believe it was, and a good 2.5 hours straight time too. started coloring the lilies, the koi, more water...it's coming along. there's a new girl there, April, who's only been around for a month but she's friggin' hilarious. like monkey high on helium & drunk on bubonic bananas, that flashes it's nipple.
i feel pain is a great way to get in tune with the body; a tool to truly separate and create awareness of the different realms of body and mind. i know i probably sound like a sadist freak, but hear me out.
to effectively endure pain is not to ignore it, but to feel it; recognize it, meditate on it, and let your body completely absorb it. i readily admit that i don't know anything about the teachings of zen/yoga or whatever crap (even though i think to myself this might prbbly be what that stuff sounds like), so this is just my interpretation/observation of my personal reaction(s) & tolerance to the process.
instead of gritting my teeth and trying to divert my attention away from what's actually happening, i focus instead on the actual movements; trying to visualize the tool and differentiate exactly what parts of the process are being worked out. of course, it's a bit tiring to "focus" for hours on end, so obviously i tend to let my mind wander every now and then; distracting myself w/ whatever music is playing in the background or TV (last time they put Russel Peters on TV, a BAD idea), eavesdropping on the other room, or laughing @ April's hijinx.
breathing is also important; taking deep, slow breaths, that allow you to relax the body. i've seen people faint and it's almost always due to hyperventilation/shallow breathing. i guess that's a natural instinct for some when they get scared/uncomfortable, and...
ok this is getting boring now. for most ppl, this topic probably got boring right after they figured out i wasn't talking about what they thought i'd be referring to after they read "session". so i digress...
today is "hump day", and the days are thankfully going by pretty quick. it'll soon be April before i know what hit me.
Friday, March 17 2006
both manager & supervisor were gone today, leaving only us unsupervised monkeys in the office. time to order pizza & pop, woohoo! speaking of monkeys...our kids joined w/ the older kids tonight as part of the 26hour Spring Break event @ the church which started 0900 this morning & goes till 1100 tomorrow. they watched this video on a father/son team called Team Hoyt. damn...after seeing these guys in action, now i HAVE to do at least 1 Ironman in this lifetime. it only makes sense. better make it before i'm 30 though...
one final thought:
i love the latest series of Mastercard commercials w/ the zamboni dude, just makes you feel so happy for the guy! couldn't find a vid link, or even a picture of it though. this'll have to do:
